Climate Survey

The 5Essentials reports are available only for schools, not for districts. The graphic that displays 5Essentials results is blank for districts. View individual schools to obtain the information about essential components for school success.

The 5Essentials Survey results offer a comprehensive assessment of a school’s organizational culture, generating data that allows schools to develop improvement plans and target resources to areas known to be related to increases in student learning.. The survey also demonstrates that teachers and students can play a crucial role in school reform.What they share about their schools has been demonstrated to reliably predict whether those schools are likely to improve or stagnate.

The University of Chicago developed and administered a version of the survey in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) for the past 25 years, helping the city’s diverse schools develop pathways to improved student performance. The research has found that schools that are well organized, safe, and supportive are much more likely to be successful.

In addition to CPS, school districts in Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and New York have used the survey results to help frame and direct school improvement plans. While districts in these states have administered the survey, Illinois is the first state to administer the survey across all schools in its 865 districts. The School Report Card shows the scores from this norm-referenced survey, meaning school’s survey results will be compared to a specific normative – or similar – group. That means that each school is scored against the statewide average for their particular school type, i.e. elementary schools to elementary schools, middle schools to middle schools and high schools to high schools.